Tale of a mutate
by Raptor-Chick
Summary: The story of a new type of mutate, Echo, from a frightened creation, to a deadly guardian of the night. Rated for language and violence. 5 years of development make it better than it looks!
1. Introduction

_This be the first Gargoyles fanfic I've ever written, though definitely not my very first fic. A cookie to anyone that guesses who this girl is from my life. Since you hopefully don't know me, since that would make you a stalker, these guesses will be completely blind. Holy Hell, it's taken me a long time to get this far with this character. This is the first of my many characters that I made- about five YEARS ago! I will not tell you all the many revisions her origins and very appearance went through, since you'd be sitting here for several hours. Ugh, when she first spawned herself from my twisted mind she was part chameleon as well and could blend into her background, she was art gargoyle and was virtually invulnerable. Ah, the stupidities of childhood… Wait, you don't know what she'll end up like yet... Meh, oh well, you'll find out soon enough. 'Nuff author notes for now. Remember to gimme lots of reviews since they power my evil evil soul!_

Introduction

I know that when you see me, all you see are the wings and the teeth and the claws, a fierce beast, nothing more, not what I once was. I used to be like you, all pink and normal, weak and boring. Do not take it the wrong way, but I prefer this form. I like the power, the acuity of the senses and flight. This form does have its downsides though. I cannot abide loud noises and I am constantly persecuted whenever I am seen in public. I don't want to be like I once was, but I do want acceptance. Perhaps if you hear my story, you will come to accept me.

A girl walked down the busy streets of Manhattan, laden with bags. She paused and pulled out a map, frowning as she scanned it. She was short with blonde hair down to her butt. She has blue eyes and a round freckled face. She was curvy, a feature that was accented by her clothes; a black poet-style shirt, with lace on the bell-like cuffs and square neck. It laced up the front, but wasn't really open, that was just for decoration. Her jeans were dark blue. A pair of beat-up blue, gray and white skater shoes adorned her feet, looking slightly out of place. She muttered to herself as she read the map. After a moment, she crammed it into a bag and continued along. She didn't notice a black van parked a short distance away begin to follow her again.

It was now much later in the day and tourists like her were hurrying back to their hotels before sunset. The girl was tired now and was also starting back to her hotel. In order to reach it as quickly as possible, she had to pass through a poorer section of town. This was when the black van that had been her constant companion throughout the day made its move. The girl was crossing a broad, empty street when she noticed the van rapidly overtaking her. She increased her pace when suddenly, it swerved towards her, a door opening in its side like a dark mouth. She uttered a brief scream and ran, but it was suddenly beside her. Hands reached out to pull her in, one giving her a rude squeeze. She shrieked and flailed blindly, but something stabbed into the space between her neck and shoulder, a different darkness quickly enveloping her.


	2. Chapter one

_I didn't feel like waiting, so here is chapter one. Oh, I almost forgot, I do not own anything except Eoife/Echo, so don't sue little ol' me. I have nothing you'd want anyway. Flame me if you like, I'll post them for others to laugh at or just kill you, Nny style. If you don't know who that is, too bad for you. If you do, than be afraid. I hope Sevarius isn't too OOC. I only have the first season of Gargoyles and he isn't in it. Eoife is pronounced, "Oi-fe", I think. . _

_Thankies to my reviewer, Margolo Blu. To answer your question, Echo is not reptilian, though she once was. _

_Please review!_

Chapter one

Eoife awoke groggily, feeling dehydrated and sore from where they had injected the substance. Her back was cold and she realized that she was lying on a metal table. Her wrists and ankles were also firmly strapped to the table. Eoife saw a tall, red-haired, pale man bent over a lab bench. He was wearing blue pants and a white lab coat. She tugged frantically at her restraints, causing the leather to creak. The man turned and grinned. He might have been called good-looking if he hadn't looked so, so… evil!

"Ah. I see that you are awake now. Good." Eoife gave him a look of terror. "Oh! Now where are my manners! Allow me to introduce myself. I am doctor Anton Sevarius. Pleased to meet you… uh?"

"Eoife." she whispered softly.

"Eoife. What a pretty name. Sounds British." he drawled.

"W-what are you going to do to me?" Sevarius gave short laugh.

"You get right to the point. All the others wanted to know why they were here, what this place was, what all the equipment was… It was terribly boring. You are perhaps the only one who guessed that they were here for a scientific purpose." Others? Eoife thought desperately, she wasn't the only one? This Sevarius was certainly a madman! He held up a large syringe to the light, tapped it and then squirted a small amount of the straw colored liquid out. "This is what I'm going to do to you." he drawled, "If this is unsuccessful and you react to this mutagen, then you will die a slow, agonizing death that I do not wish to go into detail on. If this works," he laughed again. "Than you will see what happens." He advanced with the needle; she drew away as far as she could. Needles had always terrified her. When she was young, she had to be bribed and restrained in order to receive her immunizations. She clamped her eyes shut as the needle penetrated her arm, whimpering. He withdrew it and walked to the far side of the room. Sevarius looked expectantly at her, a cruel grin plastered across his pale face.

For a while nothing happened, her arm just throbbed. Then, searing pain erupted in her belly. Eoife gasped and thought, this is it, it didn't work! I'm going to die! The pain intensified and she arched her back, screaming! Then, it spread through her veins into her limbs and head. The leather straps snapped like string from her struggles and she fell to the floor. Sevarius chose that moment to leave, instead watching from a window in the next room. The pain faded slightly and concentrated itself in her hands, feet, head shoulders and the end of her spine. Eoife howled and clutched at her splitting head, her jaw ached fiercely, then, a tooth dropped out into her mouth. Eoife spat it out along with several others. New teeth, razor sharp ones, pushed into her mouth as her jaw crunched forward. She screamed until she tasted blood in her throat.

In what seemed like and age later, Eoife collapsed on the floor. Most of her skin was prickling, but that was nothing compared to the blinding pain of before. She slowly pushed herself upright, starting when she saw her hands. The fingers were shortened slightly and thickened. Rough pads covered the bottom. She flexed her fingers and razor sharp claws shot out. Her hands and the rest of her body was covered in short, silky golden fur, spotted with black rosettes. She now had four toes like a cat and long ankle bones. A long tail protruded from the shreds of her pants. Eoife now had a cat-like face and tall, swiveling ears poked out of her hair. All the sounds seemed sharper. She soon discovered small, black, crumpled wings on her back. She tried to move them, but they would not. Eoife whimpered and crawled under the lab table, sniffing softly while tears rolled down her furred cheeks.

Eoife sat that way for a long time, eventually running out of tears. After a while she stood up shakily and tottered around the room on her new legs to get a feel for her new body. Suddenly, the pain returned, vicious cramping in the muscles of her back, spreading to her wings. Eoife dropped to her knees as the pain overwhelmed her. Her head pounded and strangely, her throat burned and ached. This new bout of pain was short lived and soon faded, leaving Eoife panting on the floor. She made a startling discovery. She could move her wings now! Twisting around awkwardly, she caught a look at them. They were huge! Eoife flexed and flared them, the leathery expanse tingling as the wind rushed by it as they pushed and caught the air. Something else had changed as well; her hearing was not just improved, it was amazing! Eoife could suddenly easily hear the buzzing of the fluorescent lights, the rustle of her clothes and wings and the rush of air past her ears!

Eoife caught the sound of footsteps advancing through the door. She crouched instinctively and shot her claws, creeping forward silently. The door opened. She leapt at an emerging group of humans that were dressed in gray armor. She screamed, a feral noise, such as one would hear coming from a great jungle cat. They started and the leader raised a gun. A dart shot out of it, striking her shoulder as she hurtled through the air. Eoife landed on the leader and clawed at his armor, but the drug was already taking effect. Her attack grew weaker and weaker as her limbs felt like they were being filled with lead. Eoife was hauled off the man and heavy manacles were clipped to her wrists and ankles before the drug consumed her wholly.


	3. Chapter 2

_Whee! Guess what? I updated! Bet you didn't know that! I own nothing but Eoife/Echo, no suing or I'll deploy my genetically engineered death kittens._

_I can see all of you who have read my story and I want to know why you haven't reviewed! I loves the hit counter. I loves it good._

_Margolo Blu: Eoife is now jaguar and a very genetically altered bat, as well as the usual electric eel and human remnants._

_A gargoyle fan: You'll just have to read on!_

_Thankies for actually making the effort to review!_

Chapter 2

Eoife moaned as she sat up, clutching her spinning head. She accidentally brushed her ear and winced as her ear twinged. She fingered a small metal stud in her ear and had no recollection of where it came from. She was getting damn tired of being drugged all the time! She squinted blearily around at her new surroundings. Eoife was in a small room with a large mirror on one wall. There was a small, beaten up and none too clean mattress shoved into one corner with a heap of raggedy blankets dropped haphazardly on top. A metal bar and a few ropes hung from the ceiling on the opposite side. A bucket sat in the far corner. Two dishes, one with water and the other with a hunk of bread and a few strips of dried meat sat beside a door. There was no handle on the door and the space between it and the wall was too narrow for even her new claws to catch. Eoife paced the room like a wild animal, which she probably was now, and searched for an escape route, a vent, anything! But there was nothing. She yowled her rage, and beat her fists on the mirror, suspecting it was a one-way window.

"LET ME OUT!" she screamed, the huge volume of her voice surprising herself. "You can't keep me locked up in here! It's illegal! I… Want… OUT!" Eoife punctured each word with a thump. An intercom, hung in one corner and protected by thick wire clicked on.

"Come, come now, Eoife. Don't be this way. The police can't help you now; you aren't human now. You are my property. Don't make me hurt you." drawled Sevarius, cruel mirth lacing his voice. Eoife howled inhumanely and leaped at the box, curling her fingers and toes in the mesh and shaking it in her rage. She was hanging nearly upside down. "You can't just take a hint, can you, you great stupid beast?" said Sevarius. The stud in her ear began to shriek out an agonizing note! She gasped and clapped her hands over her ears, falling heavily. Eoife screamed in agony as the sound played havoc with her ears! Dimly, she heard Sevarius speaking in the background, "Good. It works. Did you know that I engineered you to be vulnerable to that particular sound? It was difficult, but I think it has been worth it. Pity it had to be in the range audible to humans… Such an irritating sound." The pain lanced through her head until she thought her skull would explode! Tears streamed from her eyes, when suddenly, it cut off. Eoife gasped and panted, still crying from the pain. "It would be in your best interests to behave. Like I said, you are too valuable to hurt. Keep that in mind next time you have one of your rages." The intercom clicked off, leaving her to her headache.

…..

Eoife eventually felt well enough to eat the bread, now stale, and meat. She spent a horribly boring night alone before the intercom crackled again. Once more, it was Sevarius. "Now, some people of mine are going to deliver something for you, so you'd better behave. I can see you so remember…" The ear stud screamed briefly, making her clutch at her head before it switched off again. She hissed and spat in anger and surprised herself again. Then she retreated to the mattress and covered herself with a blanket, leaning against the wall and glaring vehemently at the door. Soon, it opened. The gray armored guards stood revealed. The leader, the one she attacked, pressed a button on a remote and her manacled wrists and ankles snapped together! Eoife yelped and tried to force her limbs apart, but to no avail. They were like magnets, only they didn't attract any other metal, only themselves. She growled deep in her throat as the guards dropped a black package, switched her water and put more food down.

"Heh, not so cocky when you can't kill me, eh, monster?" growled the leader. He curled his lip in disgust and flipped her off before leaving. Once the door shut, the manacles released. She made her way over to the package and lifted a thick, black leather belt with a silver buckle. The next item was a black tank top. The final item was a pair of black stretchy shorts with a loincloth attached. What the hell was with this Sevarius character? Did he have some sort of weird fetish or what? The intercom crackled.

"Put those on. Your own clothing is far too tattered." the scientist drawled. Eoife glared at the window with a brittle gold stare. Sevarius laughed. "I'm not going to turn away, so this is no time to get bashful." Eoife looked down at the remains of what had once been her favorite clothes. Either way, she wasn't going to be wearing much. Her attack on the intercom had only widened the rips and she was now in danger of falling out of her shirt. She sighed and turned away from the window. The shirt was too difficult to remove with her wings, so she just ripped it off. It took some doing, but she eventually figured out how to put the new shirt on. Then came the pants. She also ripped those off. Once she finished, she kicked her ragged old clothes aside and glared at the window, arms crossed. Sevarius said nothing; so presumably, he had left or was ignoring her. Eoife sighed and flopped down on the mattress, a small cloud of dust wafting up. She gouged at it with her claws. She was in for some very boring times…


	4. Chapter 3

_Goddess, it's been a while… (cringes before angry readers) I blame my Writer's Block and being busy and concentrating on my other stories and also, um… um… I blame muffins! (twitches) Heh. I like the chapter that comes after this and it will be longer I promise, but I have to finish it. Don't worry! I'm almost done! Read, review and enjoy! This means you, Beast-Child! Lol…_

Chapter Three

Eoife snarled to herself and her burning muscles. Since coming to this lab, she had had nothing to do, so she exercised. Eoife completed one last chin-up and sat down, panting. She decided that this boredom and loneliness was what caused prisoners in jail to get all buffed up. Eoife had never been fat, but she had been slightly on the plump side. The meager rations and strenuous exercise had melted all extra fat from her frame, leaving her lean and mean. Her arms bore long, lean muscles and her legs were powerful, knotted with muscle. Her legs had always been naturally strong and the exercise only enhanced them. The belly bared by her low-cut shirt was flat and would have been the envy of most women. Eoife didn't just exercise her regular muscles though. Her wings, toes and fingers were all treated the same. She would beat her wings until the air in the room was a swirling maelstrom and gouged at the floor and walls with her claws. Eoife twitched her tail as she caught her breath, mentally timing herself between sets.

Just when she was getting up again, the intercom clicked on. "Eoife. The guards are coming. You know the drill." Sevarius announced. She sighed and crossed her arms in front of herself, the wrists held together. Sevarius's guard's footsteps clicked along the hall long before they reached the door. The motors in the door whirred softly as the door slid open. The lead guard pressed a button on a small remote and Eoife knew without even testing that her manacles were locked.

"Come on, monster. Sevarius has something new in store for you today." A low growl rumbled in her throat as the female pressed a gun roughly into her spine, urging her out.

…..

Sevarius stood before a large plate glass window overlooking another, much larger and blindingly white room. With his usual amount of imagination, he wore the typical short-sleeved white lab coat and blue pants, his orange hair combed sleekly back. He didn't turn at their footsteps.

"So, Eoife. You must be wondering why I have brought you here."

"No shit, Sherlock." she scoffed. The butt of a gun was rammed into her belly, doubling her over while she wheezed, teeth gritted in an effort not to show pain.

"Now, now. Mind your manners. A creature as beautiful as you shouldn't have such a dirty mouth." rebuked the doctor, turning to treat them to one of his smirks. "Come over here." A gun poked her in the back again and Eoife stepped forwards obediently. She halted beside Sevarius, only a few feet away. She could smell him, his distinct odor of expensive cologne and soap, disinfectant and rich food. Her nostrils flared. He was so close; if only her hands were free! Eoife could hear him breathing slowly and evenly, his heartbeat unrushed and steady. It maddened her that he could be so calm in the presence of a creature that could kill him with a single stroke!

"What do you want, _Doctor_?" Sevarius grinned toothily at her and tugged at her cloaked wing. She flinched away, half opening her wings.

"Today you get to learn how to fly." Eoife peered through the window into the smooth-walled room and realized it was a wind tunnel.

…..

Eoife clutched at the small, raised platform, crouched with all four sets of claws shot. Her fur was fluffed and her tail resembled a black banded gold bottle brush. Her heart pounded madly in her ears, fear clenching her stomach. Any moment now, the huge fan would start rotating and she would have to learn to fly or get sucked into the fan and turned into mutate puree. Machinery clanked into motion and a low hum thrummed through her body. The fan before her began rotating as did the one behind her, slowly at first, but soon faster and faster, the wind whistling in her tall ears. She slicked them down and shot a desperate look at Sevarius. He waved the small, hated remote at her. The message was simple: Fly or get punished. If he activated the small stud in her ear, she would die. Grinding her fangs and tensing, Eoife slowly unfurled her wings. The growing wind caught them, lifting the leathery black expanses, lifting her. Her legs slid loose, claws screeching on the metal; now she was anchored only by her hands. The jaguar mutate swallowed and… let go. She opened her eyes, not remembering shutting them. Eoife wasn't being blasted back to her doom on metallic blades. She floated almost perfectly in place, drifting backwards only the slightest amount. She could fly. Well, glide, but still! It was a huge accomplishment! Eoife tilted her wings upwards the slightest amount, moving gingerly since she wasn't used to moving them finely. She rose obediently. Tilted down, she sank into a graceful dive. One wing lowered resulted in her banking to the side. Eoife practiced each move of her wings slowly, gingerly, avoiding rapid movements that could send her spinning out of control.

…..

Back in her room, Eoife's heart pounded with excitement. Her wings were not useless! She could fly! The flight lessons also awoke a new curiosity. The fact that she was being taught and not simply being left to rot in this 'exhibit', meant that she was changed for a purpose, not for curiosity or as proof of power and skill. But what could it be? she wondered, stretching and fanning her wings. The intercom clicked and she rolled a golden eye at it, her ears perking up unconsciously.

"Every other day, you will taken out to practice your flight. Tomorrow you start with new lessons." The box clicked again and Sevarius was gone. Strange happenings… What could they be?


End file.
